Parrots

Parrots are fascinating creatures. They are intelligent, can be very interactive, brightly colored and they can talk! Well, actually, they usually don’t talk as much as they mimic what we say but there are some that have shown they can learn a large vocabulary of words and put them together to make sentences. One such bird is Alex who was a grey parrot that was studied by Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Search her name and you will find many interesting articles and videos on the work she’s done.

Having a parrot as part of your life is not for everyone. It can be hard work sometimes and some people are just not ready for such a huge commitment. As with any other pet, I feel it should be a lifetime commitment. Birds live a lot longer than the typical companion animal such as a cat or a dog. The larger birds like the cockatoos and macaws can live 80 years or more. Medium size birds can live 60 or more years and even the smaller parrots can live upwards of 30 to 40 years. They are flock animals and want to be part of a flock. Many will form a bond with a single person or another parrot and may or may not allow interaction with others as friends.

Because of their life span, most birds will have multiple owners throughout their lives. Many will end up in shelters because someone dies and the relatives can’t or are not willing to make that commitment. Other owners don’t do the research